Since we are on the subject of the 4th of July and celebrating, I thought
our group might find this interesting. I have not checked out the facts to
see if this is all true, so don't fuss at me. Just interesting reading.
Dorothy Gifford
Subject: JULY FOURTH!!!!!!!!
>
>
> 4th of July
> Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration
> of Independence?
>
> Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before
> they died.
>
> Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving
in
> the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
>
> Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
Revolutionary
> War.
>
> They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred
> honor.
>
> What kind of men were they?
>
> Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were
> farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they
> signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty
> would be death if they were captured.
>
> Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
swept
> from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay
his
> debts, and died in rags.
>
> Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his
> family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his
> family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and
poverty
> was his reward.
>
> Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton,
> Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
>
> At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British
General
> Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly
> urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and
> Nelson died bankrupt.
>
> Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his
> wife, and she died within a few months.
>
> John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13
> children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to
> waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home
to
> find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died
from
> exhaustion and a broken heart.
>
> Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and
> sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed,
> rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
>
> They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight,
and
> unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm
> reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to
> each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
>
> They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books
never
> told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't
fight
> just the British.
>
> We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
>
> Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So,
> take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently
thank
> these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember:
> freedom is never free!
>
> I hope you will show your support by please sending this to as many people
as
> you can. It's important that we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a
> sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and
baseball
> game
>
> Mike Troutman
> Telephone/fax 616-969-9348
>
[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
[ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html